Muffle structure for use in firing kilns and ovens



J. W. A. LOVATT March 3, 1953 2,629,917

MUFFLE STRUCTURE FOR USE IN FIRING KILNS AND OVENS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed May 16, 1951 v WENT-op.

AGuENT'G.

March 3, 1953 J, w. A. LOVATT 2,629,917

MUFFLE STRUCTURE FOR USE IN FIRING KILNS AND OVENS Filed May 16, 1951 2 Sl-IEETS-SI-IEET 2 FIG. 5. la "II" F "'I' I'll! I V I I! I 7 v 20 INVENTOR .9 k QM W 6 wksmnm B y L AGENTS Patented Mar. 3, 1953 MUFFLE STRUCTURE FOR USE IN FIRING KILNS AND OVENS James William Alexander Lovatt, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England Application May 16, 1951, Serial No. 226,574

In Great Britain May 18, 1950 2 Claims.

This invention relates to mufiie structures for firing kilns and ovens of the kind comprising a base, a number of supporting pillars mounted on the base and one or more shelf members mounted on the pillars, it being understood that a plurality of such structures may be mounted one above the other in the which case the upper she f of one structure forms the base of the structure immediately above, wall members being disposed between said pillars so as to mufile the goods on the shelves from the direct heat of the kiln or oven.

In firing ovens and kilns used in many diiferent Y classes of work, it is known to use a mufile or container for partially or completely shielding the articles being fired from direct contact with the weight of the muflle structure employed to a minimum in the interest of fuel economy, one

object of this invention is to provide an improved structure which will secure this advantage and at the same time give efficient baffling or mufiling of parts or the whole of the structure.

A further object is to provide a structure which can readily b dismantled and packed into a small space for transportation.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a muflle structure mounted on a kiln car.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of a mufiie structure.

Figure 3 isaj plan view partly in section showing a corner of a muifle structure.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail showing the various parts of asupporting pillar.

Figure 5 is a side elevation showing an alternative form of mufile structure.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail showing the parts of the structure shown in Figure 5 in opened-out position, and

Figure '7 is a perspective view of an alternative form of supporting pillar.

In the construction shown in Figures 1 to 4, the muflle structure comprises a base I D on which are mounted a number of supporting pillars II, shelves I2 resting on the top of these supporting pillars II. As seen in Figure 1, a number of these structures are mounted on a kiln car I3. Each supporting pillar II is composed of three units as best seen in Figure 4, these units being a base member I4, a supporting member I5 and an upper member I6 and, although these three parts may be separate, as seen in Figure 4, it will be understood that they may, if desired, be secured together by suitable cement, or they may be integral.

Each base member I4 is in the form of a circular disc and comprises a central socket portion I'I surrounded by a flange portion I8, the flange being provided with two pairs of diametrically opposed slots I9 which extend axially through the depth of the flange, the one pair being disposed at right angles to the other. The supporting member I5 is of hollow cylindrical form and its lower end is adapted to be received in the socket portion I! of the base member I4. The upper member I6 is of the same form as the base member I4, that is to say, it is provided with a. central socket portion, not shown in the drawings, and with pairs of slots 20. This upper member I6 is, of course, mounted in an inverted position as compared with the base member I4, the socket portion of the member I6 engaging over the upper end of the supporting member I5, the upper and base members being so positioned that their slots 2|] and I9 are in axial alignment.

These supporting pillars I I are mounted at the four corners of each base I0 and they may also be provided intermediate the corners of the base as shown in the drawings. If it is desired to provide wall members on all sides of the mufile structure, these wall members which are in the form of panels 2| of refractory material are inserted into the slots 20 and I 9 of adjacent pillars II. It is, of course, necessary to insert these wall members 2| before the shelves I2 are placed in position, but it will be seen that it is extremely easy to insert or withdraw these wall members so that the amount of bafiling for the mufile structure can be varied at will.

By providing the pillars I I in the form of three separate units, the mufile structure can be knocked down into a small space for transportation and also, should any parts of the pillars become damaged, it is only necessary to replace the one unit and not the whole of the pillar.

As shown in Figure 3, the pillars II which are intermediate the corners of the base I0 may support internal wall members 2I, and these pillars I I which are intermediate the corners of the base I0 may be slightly shorter than the corner pillars II so that their upper ends do not support the shelf I2. With this construction these shorter pillars II can be withdrawn without disturbing the shelf I2, as for reasons hereinafter described there will be a certain amount of play between the wall members 2| and the slots in which they engage.

In the construction shown in Figures 5 and 6,

the muiile structure is of substantially the same form, that is to say, it comprises a base l0, supporting pillars H and shelves I2, the supporting pillars comprising upper and base members l6 and II respectively and cylindrical supporting members I! disposed between and engaging in these members I 6 and M. In this construction, however, the pillars 22 which are disposed between a pair of pillars II are of lesser height than the pillars II and are in the form of hollow cylinders which rest with their lower edge on the base l0. The upper portion of each intermediate pillar 22 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed slots 23 which extend through the thickness of the wall of the pillar.

The wall members 2| are in this construction provided on one of their end edges with 'a cutaway portion 24, the non-cut-away portion .25 of this edge being adapted to engage in the slots 28 of the intermediate pillar 22, whilst the other end edge of the wall member 2| engages in the slots 20 and IS in the pillar The object'of this construction of wall members and intermediate pillars is to enable the wall members to be re- 'will be seen, therefore, that the intermediate pillars 22 can be moved outwardly of the structure until they are clear of the base ||l whereupon they -can .be dropped downwardly so as to disengage their upper ends from the wall members 2|. Thus the wall members can be removed without removing the shelf members and this is, of course, extremely advantageous when a number of mufile structures are stacked one above the other.

Instead of providing the intermediate pillar 22 of hollow cylindrical shape, it may .be of rectangularform, as shown in Figure '7, and in this case the intermediate pillar 26 is provided at its upper end with .a longitudinal groove 2! of substantial depth which extends from end-to-end of the pillar, the lower portion of the pillar being provided on these end faces with shallow grooves 28, the groove 21 and the grooves 28 being adapted to receive the cut-away .end edges of the wall '4 members 2|. In addition, this pillar 2B is provided on its side faces with shallow grooves 29 which extend from top to bottom of the pillar, and these grooves 29 are adapted to receive further wall plates 2| which may be disposed with in the outer wall of the muiile structure.

What I claim then is:

1. In a mufile structure having a base, supporting pillars mounted on said base and a shelf mounted on said pillars, said pillars having guide portions adapted to detachably receive wall members; an intermediate pillar mounted between a pair of supporting pillars, said intermediate pillar having guide slots formed in opposed faces thereof, a side wall member formed in two halves each .half detachably engaging in a guide slot in the intermediate pillar and in the guide portions of a'supporting pillar whereby the side wall can be removed without dismantling the structure.

2. Ina mufile structure having a base, supporting pillars mounted on said base and a shelf mounted on said pillars, wall members mounted between said pillars, said pillars having guide portions adapted to detachably receive the wall members; an intermediate pillar mounted between .a pair of supporting pillars, said intermediate pillar being of hollow cylindrical shape, said pillar having a pair of diametrically opposed slots in the upper end thereof, a side wall formed in two halves, the lower portion of one end edge of each half being cut-away, the non-cut-away portion of said end edge of each half detachably engaging a slot in the intermediate pillar, the other end edge of each half detachably engaging in the guide portions of a supporting pillar whereby the side wall can be removed without dismantling the structure.

JAMES WILLIAM ALEXANDER LOVATT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 954,029 Jester Apr. 5, 1910 1,642,938 Morris Sept.,20, 1927 1,694,749 Moore et al. Dec. 11, 1928 2,297,286 Book Sept. 29, 1942 

